Permit Expediting
Union County, NJ

Union County spans dense urban Elizabeth and Linden through affluent Summit, Westfield, and Cranford — with one critical complication: Plainfield runs its own municipal utility (PMUA), a filing trap that catches contractors who assume PSE&G covers the whole county. ClearPath confirms the utility at the address level before every submission and covers all Union County municipalities under one flat fee.

Permitting in Union County

Union County is one of New Jersey's most economically and geographically diverse counties. The eastern tier — Elizabeth, Linden, and Rahway — is among the most active permit markets in the state, driven by dense urban residential stock, large commercial and industrial properties, and ongoing redevelopment. The central and western tier — Summit, Westfield, Cranford, and Scotch Plains — generates a different but equally steady permit workload: luxury panel upgrades, whole-home EV charging systems, battery backup, solar interconnection, and high-end residential renovation. Contractors working across Union County regularly encounter both ends of this spectrum in the same week.

Most of Union County is served by PSE&G, and the vast majority of service upgrade projects in the county require a PSE&G ESI (Electric Service Installation) application filed alongside the UCC permit. PSE&G ESI approvals typically run 4–6 weeks for service upgrades. However, two important exceptions apply: Plainfield is served by the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority (PMUA), a municipal utility that has its own interconnection process entirely separate from PSE&G. Filing a PSE&G ESI for a Plainfield address is a common and costly mistake — it gets rejected and restarts the timeline. Additionally, addresses in the far western portions of Union County near the Morris County and Somerset County borders should be confirmed by address, as the JCP&L service boundary is in that area.

Union County has 21 municipalities with distinct permit office characteristics. Elizabeth — the county seat and New Jersey's fourth-largest city — operates a high-volume construction office that handles commercial, industrial, and dense residential permits. Linden and Rahway have active offices with established online portals. Affluent suburban municipalities like Summit and Westfield are well-staffed and efficient. Residential permits across the county typically process in 10–22 business days; service upgrades add the PSE&G (or PMUA, for Plainfield) ESI timeline on top.

ClearPath covers all 21 Union County municipalities under a single flat fee. We confirm the utility at the address level — PSE&G, PMUA, or JCP&L — before every submission, file the correct ESI on day one alongside the UCC permit, and track every open permit through final approval.

Union County Cities We Serve